GM Financial Originates ‘Below Optimal’ U.S. Lease Volume in 3Q

With the Canadian market accounting for the lion’s share of General Motors Financial’s lease business last quarter, the captive plans to work with its automaker parent to devise offerings that appeal to more U.S. consumers.

In all, GM Financial originated $189 million of leases ― $157 million of which stemmed from Canadian operations.

“Our U.S. lease origination volume for the September quarter was $32 million,” said GM Financial President and CEO Dan Berce during a call with investors today. “Although we fully expect U.S. lease volume to fluctuate from period to period based on competitive factors and the level of manufacturer incentives, our recent lease volume is below what we consider optimal levels. Looking ahead, we will continue to work with GM to develop more attractive lease offerings to generate sustainably higher volumes.”

Meanwhile, GM Financial’s Canadian lease program jumped 47% in sequential quarters. (Year-over-year data is unavailable because GM Financial entered the leasing space late last year.)

As for loan originations, volume was up 46% from the prior-year period.

Overall, GM Financial earned $109 million for the third quarter, up 13.5% from $96 million in quarter ended June 30.

Click here for the transcript of the third-quarter earnings call.